Thunderbird Preview

Airmen, Families Get Peek At Show Meant For General

LANGLEY — The red, white and blue F-16s buzzing over Langley Air Force Base on Tuesday were meant for the general's eyes only, but a few airmen and their families got a peek as well.

The Thunderbirds, the Air Force's crack aerobatic team, was at Langley to give Gen. Robert Russ, head of the Tactical Air Command, a preview of the shows and aerial maneuvers they will perform in 1990.

The preview is required annually by Air Force regulations, said 2nd Lt. Karen Finn, a base spokeswoman. But access to the F-16 Fighting Falcons' feats are a private matter, and the public's and media's access to the base is restricted, she said.

Among the few who got a peek from the airstrip and surrounding areas on the base were "quite a few people who were able to take a break from work to see the show, and some who weren't working today and their families," said Master Sgt. Alan Burrell, a spokesman for the Thunderbirds.

A few people blocked in on Tidewater Drive by the Hampton Police - who closed off part of adjoining Armistead Avenue because of its proximity to the end of the runway - also were a captive audience for the show.

Russ should have expected the aerial moves the jets did Tuesday, Burrell said. "The maneuver package is not a surprise," he said. "It's done mainly so they can get a good idea of how it's going to look in front of the American people."

This year, the public will get its first look at the Thunderbirds on Saturday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.

Locally, the team will perform at the Norfolk Naval Air Station on April 21 and 22. The first Norfolk show is expected to be the team's 3,000th performance since its inception in June 1953. The Norfolk show will be the only Hampton Roads appearance of the Thunderbirds this year.

The Thunderbird squadron, permanently assigned to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., normally performs about 80 shows a year at more than 60 locations from mid-March to the middle of November, Burrell said.

The squadron is made up of 11 F-16s, six of which typically perform at the same time. Of the 141 people in the squadron, only eight are pilots. Three officers run administrative or maintenance sections, and 130 airmen and sergeants keep the planes flying, Burrell said.